Clinical trials

A prospective observational study of pediatric and young adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) patients treated with CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-T cells). The study will examine changes in CAR-T persistence over time and causal factors.

The CARMIGO Trial is a single-centre, non-randomised, open label Phase I clinical trial of an Advanced Therapy Investigational Medicinal Product (ATIMP) in children and young adults aged 2-16 years with Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG). The study will evaluate the feasibility of generating the ATIMP, the safety and tolerability of the GD2CAR T-cell therapy and how effectively GD2CAR T-cells engraft, expand and persist following administration in patients with DMG.

KCAT19 is a single-centre, non-randomised, open-label Phase I clinical trial of an Advanced Therapy Investigational Medicinal Product (ATIMP) in adults (age 16-65 years) with high risk, relapsed/refractory (r/r) B cell malignancies.

The goal of this phase 3 clinical trial is to determine the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of using lower doses of Androgen Receptor Pathway Inhibitors (ARPI) to treat patients with prostate cancer that has spread (metastasized). The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. if overall survival for reduced dose ARPI is not worse than standard dose ARPI when treating patients with metastatic prostate cancer, and 2. that fatigue (extreme exhaustion) and not stopping ARPI permanently (due to adverse effects) are better than average with the reduced dose. Participants will: * Be randomised to take full dose (100%) of ARPI or half dose (50%) of ARPI. * Receive standard of care ADT. * Be on treatment for approximately 3 years according to standard of care. * Have clinic assessments and visits in clinic or remotely, as per their treating hospital's standard routine local practice in line with standard of care. Additional visits are not expected. * Complete quality of life questionnaires at week 0 (pre-treatment) and weeks 4, 16, 32, 48 and 64. * Keep a diary of their symptoms. Translational research samples will be collected as follows: * Blood samples at week 0 (pre-treatment) and weeks 24, 32, 48 and at disease progression. * Urine samples at week 0 (pre-treatment) and week 24 and at disease progression. * FFPE Tumour: Routinely collected diagnostic blocks. The duration of follow-up is approximately 3 years after the last patient is recruited (minimum follow-up is 3 years; maximum follow-up is approximately 6 years for the the first patient recruited) and the trial is expected to complete August 2032 (Last Patient Last Visit).

MIGHTY is a multicentre, open label, phase 1 clinical trial of an Advanced Therapy Investigational Medicinal Product (ATIMP) in children, teenagers and young adults aged 1-24 with relapsed or refractory (r/r) rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), Ewing sarcoma (ES) or desmoplastic small round cell tumour (DSRCT). The study will assess the feasibility of generating the ATIMP and administering hBRCA84D CAR T cells to patients with r/r RMS, ES or DSRCT.

Chronic subdural haematoma (cSDH) is a common condition in older adults, usually treated by burr-hole surgery to drain the collection. Even with good surgery, around 1 in 10 patients develop a recurrence and need a second operation. Research shows that the outer lining of the haematoma is fed by small branches of the middle meningeal artery (MMA), and interrupting these branches may lower the risk of recurrence. This study looks at whether surgeons can safely and reliably coagulate these small MMA branches at the same time as standard burr-hole drainage, using the routine pre-operative CT scan and surgical navigation already used in everyday practice. Adults (aged 18 years and over) scheduled for burr-hole drainage of a chronic or subacute subdural haematoma will be invited to take part. The procedure, recovery, drain management, and 90-day follow-up will otherwise follow standard NHS care. No additional imaging is required for the study, and participants are not exposed to any extra radiation. The main purpose is feasibility and safety, not to prove effectiveness. Findings will inform the design of a future multicentre study.

The goal of this randomised clinical trial is to assess whether personalised treatment counselling can improve the decision-making experience in patients with a new diagnosis of localised prostate cancer. The main question it aims to answer is: • Does the Bespoke Decision Support tool reduce decisional conflict in those choosing between treatment options for localised prostate cancer? Researchers will compare the addition of the Bespoke Decision Support tool to standard treatment counselling versus standard counselling alone. Patient participants will: * Receive standard counselling with or without access to the Bespoke Decision Support tool (based on arm of randomisation), prior to making a treatment decision. * Answer to questionnaires regarding urinary, sexual and bowel function and decision-making outcomes before and after making a treatment decision and at 3, 6, and 12 months after initiating treatment. * Take part in a qualitative interview to discuss their decision-making experience Health Care Professional participants will: • Take part in a qualitative interview to discuss their experience in providing decision support in the trial using the Bespoke Decision Support tool.

Liver disease is the only common cause of death that is increasing in numbers. Once people develop severe scarring (cirrhosis), there are no medications proven to help them live longer, healthier lives. Apixaban is already commonly used to prevent or treat blood clots and is known to be safe for those with cirrhosis. In the early stages of cirrhosis, most people have no symptoms and lead normal lives; this is called "compensated" cirrhosis. However, when the liver stops working properly, they develop "decompensated" cirrhosis, which causes yellow skin, confusion, vomiting of blood and painful fluid build-up. This is serious, and people are extremely unwell with a poor quality of life, often need to go to the hospital and on average only live for 2 more years. The APEACH trial will investigate whether giving compensated cirrhosis patients Apixaban will help stop them from developing decompensated cirrhosis and stay in good health for longer. Previous research studies suggest that taking blood-thinning drugs is safe and helpful for cirrhosis. However, these did not have enough participants to be confident enough in the results to recommend use in everyday clinical care. The APEACH trial will include enough participants to make it clear whether Apixaban is helpful or not.

A multicentre, interventional, multi-arm, multi-stage Phase 3 trial including randomisation, double blinding, placebo control evaluation of treatments for sustained clinical response (18 months) in symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease in a population representative of people with Alzheimer's disease in the UK.

The goal of this observational study is to learn whether metabolic inflexibility, which means reduced ability of the body to switch between using fats and sugars for energy, is associated with myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS) in adults undergoing major elective abdominal cancer surgery. The main question it aims to answer is: Does pre-operative metabolic inflexibility predict myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS) within the first 72 hours after surgery? Participants will continue with their usual surgical care and pre-planned CPET (which can measure metabolic flexibility). As part of the study, participants will: * Have additional blood samples taken before and after surgery * Have an echocardiogram and, where possible, muscle ultrasound * Wear a wrist-worn activity monitor before surgery * Have routine clinical and surgical information collected from their medical records * Receive a follow-up phone call around 90 days after surgery

This trial aims to improve the heart health of people with a narrowed aortic valve called aortic stenosis (AS) who then have aortic valve replacement (AVR) by assessing the change in the mass of the left ventricle. Even after an AVR in many patients the heart is still unable to pump as well and can lead to heart failure. This study will assess if medication used in other causes of heart failure can help participants having an AVR recover better. Researchers will compare two drugs, dapagliflozin and spironolactone, that have been shown to help patients with heart failure who do not have AS, to see if taking one or both medicines together will help patients with AS. There will be four treatment arms: dapagliflozin, spironolactone, dapagliflozin and spironolactone together, and standard of care. These will be taken as one tablet of each IMP per day for 12 months. Participants will have approximately four follow up visits, dependent on the treatment arm - those in an arm with spironolactone will have an extra safety follow up visit. These medicines might help patients after AVR by reducing heart muscle thickness and scarring.

TRACERx EVO is a programme of work using a prospective observational cohort study of participants with early- and late-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and pleural mesothelioma.

RADAR is a multicentre, international, randomised, open-label phase III clinical trial composed of 2 trials running in parallel. Trial 1 will be led and sponsored by University College London (UCL) and conducted in Europe and Australia/New Zealand. Trial 2 will be led by the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) and conducted in North America, with CCTG the regulatory sponsor in Canada, and University of Miami the regulatory sponsor and IND holder in the US. Datasets from Trial 1 and Trial 2 will be combined to achieve the total sample size. Data analysis will be performed by UCL and therefore UCL is responsible for the clinicaltrials.gov entry. Eligible patients will be randomised to receive either ABVD or A2VD chemotherapy. An interim PET-CT scan will be performed after 2 cycles of treatment, which will be used to adapt subsequent treatment. Patients will receive a total of 3-4 cycles of chemotherapy and may also receive involved site radiotherapy as consolidation. Patients will be followed up for a minimum of 5 years after treatment.

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in 112 countries and makes up 7% of global cancer cases, and is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men. Normally, men with suspected prostate cancer undergo a prostate MRI, and then a Radiologist would review this scan to identify any suspicious areas for cancer within the prostate. Prostate MRI interpretation, however, is an expert skill with a steep learning curve, and internationally, there is a growing shortage of Radiologists. The PARADIGM trial aims to assess if AI can perform just as well as Radiologists in interpreting prostate MRI scans to identify prostate cancer. Enrolled participants will undergo a prostate MRI, which is the normal method used for investigating suspected prostate cancer. AI and a Radiologist will both interpret the MRI, without knowledge of each other's interpretation. Once both reports have been made, the Radiologist will be asked to produce a third, combined report. If there is a suspicious area in the prostate identified either by AI or the Radiologist, targeted biopsies will be performed. If there are no suspicious areas on the MRI and if you are at low risk of harbouring cancer, which occurs in about 30% of men, then no biopsy will be taken at all.

Chronic Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is a type of UTI where symptoms are constant and occur every day, unlike recurrent UTIs, which come and go with symptom-free breaks in between. Current treatment for chronic UTI within the NHS is based on recommended guidelines for recurrent UTI. The standard approach typically includes one of the following treatments: * Long-term, prophylactic (low) dose daily antibiotic (where medication is used at low doses to try to prevent symptoms reoccurring). * Long-term use of a urinary antiseptic (which helps keep your urine bacteria free), called methenamine hippurate. These often do not work for people with chronic UTI, and symptoms can persist. Moreover, standard urine tests may fail to detect infections, making diagnosis and treatment more challenging. The EAT-UP trial will investigate whether longer courses of treatment (higher) dose antibiotics combined with methenamine hippurate (a urinary antiseptic) are a more effective treatment at reducing levels of infection and symptoms than standard of care treatments (as described above).

The Problem - About one in three patients get even more sick while they are in hospital. This often happens because of chest infections, sepsis (very serious infection), or heart problems. These illnesses can make it hard to breathe. They are even more dangerous when patients already have breathing problems. Nurses and doctors need to spot when someone is getting worse as early as possible, so they can help them. For example, giving medicines quickly for sepsis can save lives. Sometimes it's hard to tell when someone is getting worse. Sometimes it's noticed too late. This can be very dangerous. In 2023, nearly 8,000 people died because their illness wasn't spotted quickly enough. Even if patients don't die, they might need longer in hospital and more care. This costs the NHS a lot more money. It also means fewer beds for other patients. Finding better ways to spot these problems early is an important goal. The Opportunity - Research shows checking patients more often helps spot problems early. Nurses do many routine checks. These include blood pressure, temperature, heart rate and oxygen levels. Nurses also check the breathing rate (the number of breaths per minute). Breathing rate is the best way to tell if someone is getting sicker. But it is also the hardest to measure properly. The machines we have don't do it well. So, nurses stand by the patient and count how fast they are breathing. This takes time and can be wrong if the patient talks or moves. Sometimes, it's not done at all. The Need - Breathing rate is very useful. But we don't have good tools to measure it easily. We need something simple and accurate. It should also be comfortable for patients and fit into normal hospital care. Our New Idea - RespiraFibre - We've made a new device called RespiraFibre. It's a tiny, smart sensor. It attaches to the oxygen masks or tubes that patients already wear. It can tell how the patient is breathing. If something is wrong, it sends a warning to the nurse or doctor. In this project, we will: 1. Work with patients to make sure the RespiraFibre is comfortable. 2. Make sure hospital staff find it easy to use. 3. Test how accurate it is. 4. Try it out on real hospital wards. 5. Get it ready to use in hospitals across the country. The Impact - We want to treat patients fast if they get sick. To do this, we need early warnings if things are getting worse. This will lead to better care, fewer deaths, and lower costs for the NHS. Our work with RespiraFibre will help make this happen.

DURANCE is a two part, phase Ib/II, multi-centre study to assess the safety and activity of S-488210/S-488211 in combination with durvalumab, in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

Background: 20 million people in UK have musculoskeletal (MSK) aches and pains. They commonly see their GP about this problem, but practices are so busy that it can mean a long wait for appointments. First Contact Practitioner (FCPs) are now working in the GP practices to see patients with MSK problems instead of their GP. A national evaluation has found this to be working well. For FCPs working in GP practices there is more clinical risk. The patients have not been previously screened by a doctor to ensure there is no medical cause for their pain. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (CSP) has advised that all FCPs be clinicians with the highest level of experience, known as Advanced Practitioners. However the demand for FCPs far outweighs the number of Advanced Practitioners available so physiotherapists being hired have less experience. Evidence shows that clinicians of different experience levels have different decision-making strategies which may cause unwarranted variation in care. A new method is needed for oversight and support of the FCPs. Clinical supervision is commonly utilised in the NHS and in physiotherapy teams. It is a space to reflect on a clinician's performance and create learning opportunities. This research suggests an individual data dashboard, shared only with individuals and their supervisor, that feeds back a clinician's own decision-making data to them, relative to their peers. For example, the participant is "in the top 20% of MRI requesters" or "in the top 20% of those referring to social prescribing". This type of feedback is known as 'social norms' feedback. It has been proven to be an effective way to change healthcare workers behaviour. The intervention will be called PRISM: Primary Care Individual Social Norms MSK Data Dashboard. Aims To explore the feasibility of a randomised clinical trial comparing the clinical decision-making behaviour of FCP services using the PRISM Dashboard and a usual service with no clinician feedback. Design \& Methods: This research is a feasibility trial, a process to assess whether a future full scale clinical trial within the NHS would work. It will take place across 4 different Primary Care commissioning areas to determine the possibility of recruitment, retention, outcome collection and whether people will use the intervention. PPIE for this research included one primary care PPI rep, one digital interventions PPI rep and 3 Healthwatch PPI reps. Engaging different PPI sources enabled participation from different social , cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Dissemination I will communicate research updates and outputs in conferences, via social media, blogs, newsletters and podcasts. I will use my own network as well as the reach of collaborators in this work, ie. Healthwatch, NHS England/Improvement, The (CSP), the physiotherapy digital network, Keele University and UCL research networks.

Electroceuticals is a new field in which the goal is to treat a wide variety of medical diseases with electrical stimulation of autonomic nerves. A prime target for intervention is the cervical vagus nerve as it is easily surgically accessible and supplies many organs in the neck, thorax and abdomen. It would be desirable to stimulate selectively in order to avoid the off-target effects that currently occur. This has not been tried in the past, both because of limitations in available technology but also because, surprisingly, the fascicular organisation of the cervical vagus nerve is almost completely unknown. The aim of this research is to investigate the functional anatomy of fascicles in the cervical vagus nerve of humans. This will include defining innervation to the heart, lungs and recurrent laryngeal and, if possible, the oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver and gastrointestinal tract. It will be achieved by defining fascicle somatotopic functional anatomy with spatially-selective vagus nerve stimulation (sVNS) and the new method of fast neural imaging with Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT). EIT is a novel imaging method in which reconstructed tomographic images of resistance changes related to the opening of ion channels over milliseconds can be produced using rings or arrays of external electrodes. In humans, using a nonpenetrating nerve cuff with sVNS or fast neural EIT, this will be performed for 30 minutes transiently during an operation to insert a vagal nerve stimulator for treatment of epilepsy and deliver images in response to activity such as respiration or the electrocardiogram (ECG).

This study aims to evaluate the safety, efficacy and duration of response of CD19+CD22 Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) redirected autologous T-cells in children with high risk, relapsed CD19+ and CD22+ acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer amongst men in the United Kingdom, and two common curative treatments are surgery to remove the prostate (radical prostatectomy) or radiotherapy. Both treatments can affect quality of life, mainly because of problems with erections and urinary leakage. Many men feel disappointed or regret their treatment choice because of changes in their sexual function. Surgeons often use a 'nerve-sparing' technique to reduce the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED), but many men still experience erection problems afterwards. A way to improve erectile function recovery after surgery further would be to identify accessory (additional) arteries to the penis. Up to one in three men have an extra artery called the accessory pudendal artery (APA). Preserving this artery during surgery may improve recovery of erections by protecting blood flow and reducing the risk or severity of ED. Until recently, surgeons could only try to see these arteries during the operation, and no study has tested whether they are preserved or whether this makes a difference. This has changed with the advent of imaging. Men already have an advanced MRI scan (called a multiparametric MRI) before prostate cancer treatment. These scans can also show whether an APA is present. In addition, robotic surgery, now the gold standard for radical prostatectomy, allows operations to be video recorded. This allows comparison of what was seen on the scan with what happened during surgery and then monitoring of recovery afterwards. Early research suggests that men with an APA have better erections before surgery. This study will test whether preserving the APA during surgery helps erections recover afterwards. In this first phase of the research (Phase 1), a feasibility study will be carried out at University College London Hospital. The study will invite 20-40 men with good sexual function before surgery, who are having robotic prostatectomy with a nerve-sparing approach. Multiparametric MRI scans will be used to identify whether an APA is present and video recordings will be collected to see if the artery was preserved. Participants will complete simple questionnaires on erections and quality of life before and after surgery up to 1 year. To assess whether the artery was preserved, an extra MRI scan will be organised after surgery for those with an APA, as well as penile ultrasound to assess erectile machinery. Ethical approval has already been obtained from the regulatory bodies, and the study is ready to start recruiting participants. The results will allow planning of a larger, national study (Phase 2). That study will test whether preserving the APA improves erectile recovery, reduces the severity of ED, and improves quality of life. If confirmed, this research could lead to modification in surgical approach, more personalised counselling before surgery, and reduced long-term need for costly ED treatments within the NHS.

Stroke patients with absent voluntary finger extension (VFE) 6-months after stroke are not expected to recover hand function. However, experience from the Queen Square Upper Limb neurorehabilitation service contradicts this view. In this study, we will identify the characteristics of those chronic stroke patients who regain previously absent VFE. Hundred chronic stroke patients will be recruited with absent/negligible VFE in an external pilot and feasibility study. Transcranial magnetic stimulation will be used to determine the functional integrity of descending white matter pathways. Corticospinal tract integrity to finger extensor muscles will be based on whether motor-evoked potentials are present (MEP+) or absent (MEP-). Reticulospinal tract activity will be assessed by measuring ipsilateral MEP amplitudes and the Start-React response. All patients will then receive 3-months of neuromuscular electrical stimulation plus home exercise, designed to strengthen wrist/finger extensors, reduce spasticity and increase corticospinal excitability. The primary outcome measure will be restoration of VFE. It is predicted that VFE will be restored in MEP+ but not MEP- patients. MEP- patients will have higher reticulospinal tract activity associated with spasticity. Restoration of VFE will allow patients to engage in evidence-based upper limb training to improve function e.g. constraint induced movement therapy or repetitive task training.

The goal of this study is to find out whether a new method called "LaserSAFE" can accurately detect cancer at the edge of the prostate (called a positive margin) during prostate surgery. LaserSAFE uses a special microscope in the operating room to quickly scan the prostate after it has been removed from the body. This information can help surgeons decide whether it is safe to preserve the nerves around the prostate. This is especially important for patients who are not usually considered suitable for nerve-sparing surgery using current methods. The study will also assess how quickly and reliably LaserSAFE provides this information during surgery. The main questions it aims to answer are: Can LaserSAFE accurately detect cancer at the edges of the prostate during surgery? Can LaserSAFE help surgeons safely decide whether to preserve or remove the surrounding nerves? Researchers will evaluate the use of the LaserSAFE technique during surgery to see if it improves decision-making about nerve preservation compared to standard practice. Participants will: Complete a quality of life questionnaire before surgery Undergo standard prostate surgery, where the surgeon will initially try to preserve the nerves Have their removed prostate analysed during surgery using the LaserSAFE technique Have additional tissue removed if LaserSAFE detects cancer at the edges of the prostate Attend routine follow-up visits as part of standard care Complete quality of life questionnaires at 3 and 12 months after surgery

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmental organisms found in soil and water. The majority do not cause human disease. When they do, this is mostly as a chronic lung infection in people with long-term lung problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchiectasis, or cystic fibrosis. The number of people with NTM pulmonary disease (PD) is increasing, and its management can be complex, requiring prolonged treatment with multiple, often toxic, drugs in someone who may already be frail. Non-drug approaches, such as airway clearance techniques, structured exercise, nutritional support and psychological care are used to help manage bronchiectasis and COPD. However, there is limited evidence about their benefit in people with NTM-PD. Also, it is not clear whether these patients' health needs are different from people with bronchiectasis alone. The investigators want to identify the most important symptoms encountered by people with NTM-PD and patient preferences for care. The study also aims to explore whether the need for non-drug measures differs between people with and without NTM-PD who have other underlying lung disease. The research will take place at one NHS centre and involve a single assessment of 40 people with NTM-PD not using specific antibiotics to treat their NTM and 40 people with bronchiectasis but no evidence for NTM. Following consent, and mainly using questionnaires, participants will be asked about their physical and mental health, and nutritional status. Exercise capacity, muscle strength and body muscle/fat composition will also be assessed using simple tests. The total time required will be a maximum of one hour. Recruitment to the study will last around six months. The results will help improve understanding of specific needs of people with NTM-PD and guide clinically relevant research in this area.

This study aims to evaluate whether plantar pressure data collected during standing and walking can be used with machine learning to support early detection of scoliosis in young people. Patients with scoliosis and healthy volunteers aged 10-18 will undergo a short assessment using a pressure mat.